FLASH NEWS
EPP Member: If Albania stays outside the EU, you will be in the hands of Russia!
2026-06-06 17:49:52 / POLITIKË
Lopez-Isturiz said that these states try to gain strategic ground in democratic countries through investments and infrastructure projects, taking advantage of weak governance. He reaffirmed the full support of the European People's Party for the Democratic Party and praised the figure of Sali Berisha for his perseverance and political commitment.
Antonio Lopez-Isturiz: You have the full support of the European People's Party, the Internationals, the IDU, the CDI. I mean, I know I belong to a long list of European leaders who always, when they find an opportunity, come to visit you and support you.
My good friend Dolors Montserrat, now the Secretary General of the EPP, has been here three times. Here you are. She believes in your struggle and your work. I know because I have spoken to her many times. Albania is a dear country to Dolors and to me.
And your party has been an inspiration many times. You too, Dr. Berisha, with your persistence, your fighting spirit, when sometimes you feel that you know you are against all odds, there are certain people you remember. Always on the fighting side. Again in politics, you will find these moments.
Tell me if I am talking too long. No, because I have this tendency in the European Parliament that we can only speak for a minute and in such cases you start to feel liberated.
There is a strategic shift in the world. If you stay outside the European Union, you will be in a more difficult situation every time. You will be in the hands of China, Russia, Turkey and many other countries for which democracy is not their choice, it is not their inspiration.
And they are coming, trying to take over democratic countries, taking advantage of the fact that they have bad governments. They are very subtle, very, very subtle. They pay, they don't ask. They build a highway or a palace or an airport and then they say 'no, no, we don't want anything else'. Yes, they do. It's just for strategic positioning.
Now more than ever, in this panorama, Albania cannot remain outside the European Union. Okay?
In politics sometimes, believe it or not, forget that TV series House of Cards, forget it. In politics, and it has worked for me many times, you have to think with your heart, not your head. You have to do your own thing, not because that's what everyone else is doing, but what I think needs to be done.
It will work for you. I remember, I'll give you an example.
We politicians always tend to search, we are always looking for something new that can get attention. No? You have to pay attention to what you know. Attention will come to you. Not because you are looking for it, but it will come if you are good at what you do.
When I left the EPP General Secretariat, I said what am I going to do now? I was looking for what the topics are. I said my hobby is the Middle East. And with that I will go under the radar because nobody cares about the Middle East. I was wrong.
I became a Middle East expert in the European Parliament. If you ask around in the EPP group, 'Tono is the guy who knows about Israel, about the United Arab Emirates, Iran and so on.' Say, but excuse me, it was the opposite, I didn't want to be.
Because I chose what was my hobby in politics without thinking that it would make me more visible. No, forget it. Specialize in topics that are not necessarily in the spotlight, but that maybe at a certain point will become important, and that is your momentum.
And then you will be in the spotlight, but in a responsible way. Not as a clown, like others are doing. In a responsible, constructive way.
Happening now...
Protests and the crackdown on the Rama-Berisha system
Nga Erl Kodra
ideas
top
Alfa recipes
TRENDING 
services
- POLICE129
- STREET POLICE126
- AMBULANCE112
- FIREFIGHTER128